


The Path You Take

by Heartsprout (graygryphon)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: AU, DND Adjacent, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, MYO Story, May contain genre-typical fantasy violence, Other, dnd, reader choice, tags will be added as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-04-18 16:23:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14217060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graygryphon/pseuds/Heartsprout
Summary: You control the story!You finally make it to the next city after a week of journeying, but who you are and where you are going next is dictated by the options you and fellow readers vote for!With a very 'Dungeons and Dragons' vibe, TPYT is guided 50% by me and 90% by you![Now back after a hiatus!]





	1. One Week Later...

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome To Your Journey!!
> 
> The the end of each chapter, you will be offered a small selection of ways you want the story to progress
> 
> Vote in the comments which direction you want the character to follow! The winning option with be by majority vote, and voting for each chapter is open until the next chapter is posted (so check if the chapter you are on is the latest, as voting on chapters that are not the current one will have no benefit ;)
> 
> As you help the character journey, all your favorite faces from RT and AH will join the fray, and might help or hinder you in various ways
> 
> (The character will also be written in a neutral gender they/them, so you can feel like you relate to the character as much as possible, regardless of who you are)
> 
> This is my first time trying out this concept, so it's going to be a journey for all of us!
> 
> Please vote for a plot option once per chapter, but feel free to leave other comments as you usual would on any other fic!

It’s late when you finally reach the next city

 

That useless guide in the last settlement knew bog-all about the journey time, as he had said it would take only a day at most

 

Now a week later, your arduous travel is over as the golden glow of the sunset creates a halo behind the city that seems to snake around the mountain, climbing its way around to the castle at the top and back down to the root system of streets housing the lower classes of the society

 

Small pricks of light flicker to life all over the dark side of the mountain as lanterns are lit for the night, like stars in the skies veil that reaches down to the earth

 

You are more than eager to finally make it into the cities walls, having had more than your fill of bandits, hoards of roving goblin packs, and that one determined pygmy gryphon that would not stop following you till you shared your last sandwich

 

Tired, hungry and with little left to be stolen from you, you make your way to the massive stone wall and entry way, the enormous wooden doors already closed for the night now that all wagons of stock and trade have either come or gone for the day

 

Just to the side, however, was a much more humanoid-sized door and guard booth, the man behind the wrought iron bars barely giving your papers a scrutinizing glance before stamping them and handing them back, the slide bolt behind the entrance door making a heavy _clang_ as it was pulled aside and the door swung open for you

 

The market district, much more awake and lively than the door man, was all colour and nice and happy banter, signs hung that read with unknown script seeming to hint at some kind of festival that was the reason for the good spirits in the air that evening

 

The smell of roasted meats, wines and ales, vegetables and herbs and spices and all manner of exciting exotic foods-

 

Made a very pointing note of reminding you that your pouch probably held less than 2 gold pieces right now

 

And granted; this was more than enough for a well filling meal

 

But it was not enough for food _and_ lodgings for the night

 

Tomorrow it would be easy enough to earn some quick money, maybe pawn the silver necklace you found abandoned on the trail to the city, but right now a decision had to be made of which one would be forfeited

 

You patted the pouch at your hip softly as you weighed the options

* * *

 

 

 **#1: Buy food!** – A decent meal would give good energy for work tomorrow, and I’m sure there is a tree or awning you can rest under for the night

 

 **#2: Buy lodgings!** – You had breakfast this morning, and a comfortable sleep will put you ahead and rest your aching joints from a week on the road


	2. Time To Eat...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You chose:
> 
> #1: Buy food! – A decent meal would give good energy for work tomorrow, and I’m sure there is a tree or awning you can rest under for the night

 

Your stomach was too involved in the conversation for you to ignore it, so one more night sleeping rough wouldn’t kill you

However an even bigger challenge had made itself known; with so _many_ options of flavourful and decadent foods available, deciding on which one you wanted was an impossible task

It wouldn’t be an issue if you had enough to taste a bit of everything, but you wanted the most out of your gold

You zigged and zagged around the stalls for a while, following your nose and drinking it all in as you waited for the right thing to catch your eye

You ended up at what seemed to be the centre point of the market; a round open area with a large fountain in the centre that people sat around the edge of

As you admired the lantern light dancing through the spouting water, a deeply tanned man standing by a small wagon structure caught your attention with a beckoning wrist wave

You wandered over, and saw that the wagon was a type of rickshaw, converted into a rolling food cart

A big steamy pot bubbled in the centre, wafting up the scents of coconuts, curry and a medley of veggies

“You like the smell? That taste is even better!” he beamed, a non-descript desert accent adding zest to his words “try it!” he encouraged, demonstrating that you should dip the very tip of your little finger into the saucy mix

You followed suit, and then hurriedly went for your pouch

He chuckled heartily

“That’s what I love to see! A good friend shared with me this recipe, and I had felt the same way!”

You eagerly thrust forward your coins, hoping it was enough for at least a small bowl of the delicious stew

However he puckered his lips and frowned a little, not having expected you to offer so little

“Hmmm, I’m afraid I don’t usually sell for under four-gee” he hummed, stroking his beard.

It was accurate to say your heart broke a little; a mere pinky-dip was nowhere near enough

And then his eyes lit up again with an idea

“This might be fortune for you, my friend, as I have been meaning to run a debt to that old friend of mine, but couldn’t pass up the prime festival sales and close up my shop”

You interest was piqued

“if you would be happy to run a little gift over to him, just east of here in the next district over, that _I_ would be more than happy to accept your two-gee!” he beamed, proud of his problem solving

Perform a simple delivery in exchange for some well-needed self love in the form of stew? Deal!

He drew up a big ladle from the side of his cart, and a simple clay bowl designed to be made easily and discarded after one use

He ladled you a wonderful big helping, and then reached into a basket beside the pot and withdrew a lovely slice of crusty bread, slipping it into the side of the stew-filled bowl, so that it almost threatened to flow over

“You should find this perfect as always!” the man beamed with pride “and as for the delivery…”

He handed you the bowl and then went around the the back of the wagon, rustling through an old saddle bag, before producing a relatively small, boxy package, all neatly wrapped in brown paper and bound with packing twine

“The address is on the parcel, it’s an old pub smack in the middle of the trader’s district. He certainly was no fool to set up there” he smiled, tucking the package under your arm, given both your hands were occupied holding your precious meal “now I’m relying on you, get it there before the end of the night, yeah?”

You nodded happily, already taking a deep gulp of your stew

The man waved cheerily as you disappeared back into the crowds and rows of market stalls, heading in the general direction he pointed to you

You slurped up your food as you weaved your way out of the market area, chewing on your last bite of crusty bread as you stepped out of the body-dense area

You patted your stomach, and were looking around for somewhere to discard your bowl when a young boy seemed to notice and hurried over to you, holding out his hands as if begging that you give him the empty bowl

A little perplexed, you looked at the rough clay bowl before shrugging and handing it to him

It was like all his birthdays had come at once, based on the way he looked at the bowl in his hands

He grinned up at you quickly before darting off again, leaving you shaking your head in confused amusement

Across the way you could see an archway under the tall brick wall that showed the edge of the district, and given the way the vendor had described it the arch should lead into the trade district

All the districts were cut into wedges by these walls, which the city guards used as high walkways to watch over the districts, and get quickly to the outer wall should they need to without having to push through regular crowds

The wall was easily six times your height, and the arch was wide enough for two carts to pass side by side, allowing a comfortable flow for people passing between the districts

You followed a natural channel of people and found yourself in the trade district

Here, the streets were made of actual buildings and roads, rather than the temporary tents and gazebos or the market district

Cobbled roads a mish-mash of brick and log buildings, this district was much less densely populated in the streets, but the shop windows were still bright and the mix of people bantering and the rhythmic _clang_ of hammer on anvil bounced around the streets

You checked the package for the address

_‘The Chief Hunter Inn_

_Old Dawn Street’_

You looked around for any kind of street signage, but anywhere there was writing was still intangible to you, as it was all in the foreign language you didn’t recognise

You were glad you could at least read the package, because the second person you caught the attention of knew where the street was and gave you an easy way to get yourself there

It took less than ten minutes to reach the street, and you took in all the hanging guild signs as you went under them

Tailors, cobblers, armourers and weapon smiths; there was everything from ‘a’ to ‘z’

The sign for the dwarven gem valuers was hanging so low you had to duck a little to avoid whacking your head on it

You were enraptured looking in the passing window of the watch makers that you almost forgot the Chief Hunter was supposed to be opposite it

Where the side of the street you were on was mainly brick, the other was mainly log and timber

However the Chief Hunter was stone.

The kind of extensive masonry that made up the Chief Hunter looked like the kind of build job that would have taken _years_ of meticulous stone cutting and cementing, even the short stairs to the front doors being made painstaking accuracy in a similar fashion

It both stuck out from the surrounding buildings, and fit in perfectly, like the prize gem in the centre of a necklace

Bold with a purpose

You crossed the street and climbed the stairs to the doors, reaching out a hand but finding the door already swinging inwards

Two rowdy men who seemed to have had more than their fill of ale came trundling out, laughing raucously as they passed less than an inch from you without seeming to notice you were there

You slipped through the door they had pulled open before it had a chance to swing shut

The interior was warm and just as raucous, though the energetic and drunk patrons weren’t as close to your person so it was much more bearable

Across the space of tables with drinking people from all manner of creeds and species, was the long raw wood bar

You slipped easily past people to the front, and waited for the last man who was being served to potter away with his drink before stepping up to get the barman’s attention

You cleared your throat, and the server turned around to look you up and down with a narrowed eye

He wasn’t particularly tall, or muscled, or even that grizzled in nature

But his exposed arms were marked up and down with all manner of tattoos, some even visible peaking out the top of his shirt and clinging to his neck

The amazing surface space of this man that was covered in tattoos, plus his heavy eyebrows sitting over sharp grey eyes, seemed to give this man all the influence he might need time to time

You swallowed a little; suddenly unsure as this man sized you up, and slowly pushed the package across the bench

His nose rose in a sneer as it got closer to him, narrowing his eyes on you even more as he picked it up, observing the tag that has the pubs address on it, and then flipping it over and revealing another tag tucked under the packing twine

He read it quickly, and the barrelling joyful laugh that exploded from the barman made you jump visibly

“This is a day I never thought I’d see come!” he grinned as he laughed “That old piece of shit finally paid me back! Salt of the earth, that guy is…”

The sudden change in this man was as if he had been replaced with someone completely different

Suddenly his sharp eyes and mass of tattoos told a story of a happy-go-lucky guy, rather than a brick wall of a man

“I’m kinda bummed he didn’t bring it to me, haven’t seen him in a wee while, but oh well” the man said to you, casual banter like you suddenly bumped up from patron, past acquaintance and right to friend “I’m guessing you don’t actually know ol’ Heirbo, he’s more a master of opportunity than anything else”

“I’m Geoff by the way; what do I call you?”

* * *

 

 

 

#1- Just call me Friend- I don't really use my name in strange places, and it's too hard to pronounce anyway

 

#2- Call me Smith- Few people know my real name, Smith will do

 

#3- Uhh... Bongo?!- (You were never good at being put on the spot...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just letting you know, you can vote and leave regular comments in the same message, don't worry about separating them as long as your vote is clear :)
> 
> FOR UPDATES ABOUT UPCOMING CHAPTER POSTS ETC FOLLOW MY UPDATE BLOG HERE
> 
> https://heartsprout-updates.tumblr.com/


	3. A Totally Reasonable Name...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooooo, who guessed that I wasn't dead?
> 
> I sure-as-shit didn't
> 
> So turns out i'm writing again? crazy huh. you might have to re-read the first two chapters, cause I sure did lmao
> 
> I might be a little rusty after a year off, but work with me on this and i'll work with you :)
> 
> Go forth
> 
> You Chose:
> 
> #2- Call me Smith- Few people know my real name, Smith will do

“Smith, huh? Well it’s nice to meet you” he grinned “What quenches your thirst; whatever it is, it’s on the house”

  
You settle on something sweeter and less alcoholic than some of the more standard tavern grog's  
  
  
You’d hate to come off like someone who can’t handle their booze, but perhaps a hangover isn’t what you need right now either

  
Geoff also instructs one of the bar workers to bring you a plate of bread and meat, the lady smiling as she scoots it across the table you chose near the wall and out of the way

  
While you eat, you decide to do a bit of people-watching

  
You may have been working on a wandering-adventurer alignment so far, but now with money gone and options slim, it was time to keep your ears open for work and opportunities this city could offer

  
The pub was still pretty lively with chatter, the patrons not exactly trying to be sound-courteous to the others, but most talk was about the festival, personal conversations about people and places you didn't know, or incoherent booze-slurred speech that was pointless to try and decipher

  
Your people watching supplied nothing much of anything, other than figuring out that the ruling family of the city was the house Lebreh, something that probably held no significance to you, given you probably weren't going that far up the mountain

  
One thing you can’t help but notice is a tattoo   
  
  
You’d have thought that Geoff would have used up the supply of all ink in the city, but when the fifth punter sporting a specific tattoo of a snake went past you started getting curious  
  
  
The tattoo depicted a viper with a rabbit’s skull in its mouth, and all owners of said tattoos had them marked on the outer side of their right elbow

  
When the bar worker returned to take your now empty plate, you asked her

  
“Oh, it’s some covenant or brotherhood or something” she said, flipping her hand dismissively “I see them every now and then, but I’ve never really worried about it since they don’t cause trouble and Geoff doesn’t mind them. I figured he probably has one too but I’ve never cared to check, it would explain why they seem to always be coming in here” she said, giving you a little look-over before heading away with her stack of collected dishes

  
You looked over at Geoff, but he had a rag for cleaning glasses hanging over his arm so it was impossible to tell  
  
  
You did note all his tattoos seemed aged, while the viper and skulls were all crisp

  
There were plenty of gangs and cults roaming the country though, and cities always had their seedy undersides  
  
  
They probably wouldn’t offer you any work you wanted to be involved with, so you too stopped caring pretty quick and the honeyed mead helped the aches of the day get softer around the edges

  
Soon it seemed that business was winding down for the night, as punters either meandered out of the pub, or headed upstairs to where you imagined Geoff offered rooms.  
  
  
It was probably too rude to ask to board one for the night with the promise of work owed tomorrow, given he had already fed you for simply bringing the small package, but you needed to figure something out or accept sleeping in a tree after all

**____________________**  
  


**#1 - Ask Geoff for a room -**  you could risk seeming greedy to your first hopeful connection in this town, but he might have a vacancy and he seems to value decent help. That could be enough, right?  
  


**#2 - Find a nice tree or awning to rest under -**  you aren’t a stranger to a rough night and are pretty accustomed to natures grassy bed-spread, but you really don’t know what the citizens of this city could be like if you are caught asleep and unawares, regardless of your street smarts

 **  
#3 -Crawl under a table** \- hope you aren't noticed there, and at the very worse you can act like you passed out and they leave you be


	4. Night Sky, Nice Sky...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You Chose:
> 
> #2 - Find a nice tree or awning to rest under - you aren’t a stranger to a rough night and are pretty accustomed to natures grassy bed-spread

You thank the lady who served you, offer Geoff a handshake and evenings farewell, then depart from the tavern

Stepping outside, it's still a nice clear night so you are pretty confident with your decision

Looking up and down the street, you decide to try heading down the opposite way you came in search of a calm quiet place to rest your head

All shops and stores are closed now, save the nocturnal kenku working to keep the forges hot through the night

Only a street over you find a small circular area with a short hedge creating it's border

Within the area are a few trees spaced around a magnificent big oak, some benches sat just inside the hedge border to face the tall center-tree

With no one around and your weariness quickly creeping up in your peripheral vision, you take one last glance around before stepping off the cobbled road and onto the soft grass, moving over to the tree and deftly climbing it with familiar ease

You don't need to go all the way to the top, just high enough that people wouldn't notice you in passing and take the easy opportunity to try to pinch your things

you find a nice fork in the tree, sitting into the natural saddle and resting back on the branch that curved gently upwards

You set your satchel on top of you, resting your arms over it and wriggling slightly to find the most comfort

You lean your head back and are pretty quickly off to sleep...

 

-

-

And then a harsh throat cleaning has you awake again

It feels like you could have been asleep for a little while, but the moon wasn't visible through the trees leaves so it was impossible to say how long it had been

You slowly lean over enough to look down without falling from your perch

And you see an un-amused guardsman looking up at you, flanked by two other soldiers

He is wearing nice plate armor, engraved and beveled to depict garlands of flowers, small creatures among the leaves and petals

A deep red sash flows from over left shoulder down to right hip, and his sheathed sword sits proud in it's ornate housing

He clears his throat again, and you glance back up into his almost bored eyes

"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt your dreaming, awake or not" he begins, absently scratching his jaw "But I think you must be unfamiliar with the laws around here"

You glance around your tree den and it's obvious this is what he must be unhappy about

"Should we knock 'em out of the tree, Commander Collins?" one of the soldiers ask their obvious superior, stamping the base of his spear held at side once for emphasis

"We aren't cavemen" the Commander spoke over his shoulder "If they got up there, i'm happy they will find it logical to find their way back down"

Keen to stay of the obviously level-headed commanders good side, you do just that

"Where are you from, kid?" he asks you, despite not looking a major way older than you, or younger than you for that matter.

He had a steady jaw, but not particularly grizzled features, he looked almost a little soft to some how be a commander

They don't seem surprised to find out this is your first night in the city

The commander sighs

"Well, you can't just climb up and old tree to sleep, and if you had asked any local you would have known the crown will reimburse the cost to house any travelers for one night" he said, his guards giving each other looks like you must have been an idiot not to know that

You kind of wish you had just asked Geoff, at the very least to know you would still be asleep right now like you wanted so much

"Just... follow us and we will show you to when you can lodge the night" Commander Collins says, waving in a motion indicating you must follow him

Setting your bag strap over your shoulder again, you can only hope the walk isn't far

You follow them back the way you came, back onto the street of Geoff's pub but down the other side of the road, obviously not the place they had in mind

However as you glance over towards the pub with it's darkened windows, you see one of the doors swing open slightly and a figure slip out

Despite the clothing and hooded scarf they wear that covers 90% of their skin, you can tell they are as lanky as they are tall underneath it

You can only barely see eyes looking around under the hood as the figure head down the stairs and to the path

As they reach the bottom of the stairs, your party is on the opposite side of the road

And you see the figure has something tucked under their arms

A something that you recognize as the parcel you delivered earlier

They are looking at you too as your eyes snap up to theirs, and then both your eyes are on the package, and then back to each other

The figure takes in the posse of guards you are moving with, understands you recognize the package by the look in you eyes

And takes off down the road

_They are stealing the package!_

If you wanted in good with Geoff, here was the chance! 

So you take off after the figure

You ignore the surprised shout of the Commander calling after you as you sprint after the thief, who is tearing their way quickly down the street

You would have hoped he would drop the package in surprise, but he seemed to be holding firmly as he ducked up a side street

You make it to the corner and turn, eyes bugging for a second as you see him running un-phased up this new street that was on a pretty steep curve

With not enough sleep and a travel-exhausted body, you want to kick yourself as you too face the challenge of trying to maintain speed on a forty five degree angled street

They glance back to check they are still being pursued, and you shout for them to stop though your panting breaths

They dart across the street and down another side road, you only a few moments behind and relieved to see that this road traveled horizontally to the rise in the hill, giving you a flat drag to catch up on

The figure is not that far ahead now, and the running has caused their scarf to fall off one shoulder, trailing behind them

You give a mighty push, now close enough to reach out and catch the end of it, the figure letting out a choked 'glurk!' before tripping and planting into the hard ground

Your legs give out and you trip too, stumbling over them and landing on their other side

Both dazed, you manage to lift your head first and see the package on the ground between you

You snatch it up as they prioritize staggering to their feet, rubbing their head painfully

"You bloody, mingy-" they begin to complain, cutting off at the clanging sound of armor as the guards approached their side street

He whipped around to look their direction, back to you and the package you clung to with a curled snarl to your lip, and must have concluded they valued it less than being caught as they darted around you and off down the street

Panting and proud of yourself, you manage to push yourself to your feet as the guards reach you

"Stay  _right_ there!" the commander demands, furious, and you quickly throw up your hands with package inside, stumbling out your words as quick as you can to explain why you pursued the figure

"They are lying, they thought they could run and hide but tripped!" one guard declared to the commander, who listened to your explanation while fuming silently

"Yeah, they obviously was in cahoots with the other guy, and was going to follow 'em to a safe house" added the second guard

But they the Commander seemed to shake off his anger easily, smoothing his ruffled hair back smoothly

"They were not an outlaw before, why would they have made them-self one" Commander Collins said "And they do have the package, which we saw the other person carrying"

You were relived that the Commander seemed to understand reason, unlike the dense guards. You see why he was a Commander so young

"You did well, to stop a crime in action" the Commander said "But you should work on explaining yourself sooner, before disobeying a soldier"

All you can do is nod, feeling your knees shake a little. You are spent.

The Commander gives you a quizzical look

"Are you OK? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

You can only shake your head before you feel the jolt of your knees hitting the hard stone

You think you feel yourself being thrown over a hard, armored shoulder

But you can't fight it anymore...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, not all chapters will end with an option on how the story progresses
> 
> some times you will just be at the whim of the cosmos
> 
> aka me >:3c


End file.
